The Devil You Need (3 page)

His beautiful lips found my throat and branded me with possessive
heat. He lingered briefly over the place where his mark used to create a
powerful link between us and I held my breath as his kisses stuttered…almost as
if he’d just remembered it was gone.

But Dialle didn’t delay long, his sharp, white teeth nipped
the spot and his tongue came out to lave it in a soothing swirl. I moaned at
the jolt of awareness his playful caresses caused in my lower belly, where lust
tightened almost painfully. I reached up and tugged his white shirt over one
golden shoulder and, opening my lips, layered them over his fragrant skin and
tasted him. My eyes dropped closed in ecstasy as his warm, masculine scent
rolled through me, bringing my senses to life and infusing me with his powerful
essence. I gave in to the urge to suck the delicious skin of his muscular
shoulder and he moaned, nipping my throat in response.

“Too many clothes,” I murmured.

In a blink we were skin to skin, writhing against the bed. I
might have lost my powers but Dialle still had his, and his ability to remove
clothing with just a thought was one of his finer skills, in my humble opinion.

Dialle’s long, thick cock nudged my belly, and I opened for
him, anxious to feel the wonderful pressure of his hard flesh inside me,
stretching me wide and stroking delicious caresses over the pleasure center of
my body.

Dialle dropped his head and placed a tender kiss on my
breastbone, sliding a trail of heat over the mound of my breast and
encompassing a perky nipple in moist heat. He sucked hard and the pleasure of
it speared through me, taking my breath away.

I reached between us and wrapped his cock in my hand,
stroking it in a firm grip and sliding my palm over the sensitive head with
each caress. Dialle showed me his enjoyment by biting my breast before soothing
it with his tongue and then moving to the other nipple.

Moisture touched my palm as I fondled him. The drop of
pre-come lubricated my gliding strokes, allowing me to increase the pressure of
my hand around his rigid shaft. Dialle groaned against my nipple and I arched
into his mouth, desperate for the feel of his lips and teeth on my hungry skin.

My legs wrapped around him and I lifted my hips, pressing
against his hard cock. “Make love to me, Dialle. Now. Please?”

He rose to his knees between my legs. His strong hands
wrapped around the back of my thighs and lifted. His beautiful shaft danced
between us, its thick tip glistening with hopeful moisture. My hand reached
out, longing to touch him, but he moved away. “No, Astra. Look at me.”

I lifted my gaze, finding the wildly swirling magic of his
beautiful eyes focused on me. I felt their pull immediately, felt myself
falling under their spell, and a delightful sense of awareness rippled through
me as I let myself succumb to their magic. My body tightened like the string on
a bow, every muscle quivering with anticipation. The magic spun and called,
infused now with startling gold as well as the vibrant colors of passion. My
eyes opened wider, seeking more of the magic pulling on my senses. Heat pulsed
at my core, my clit throbbed in desperate need, and pressure made the pulsating
awareness grow.

He entered my pussy slowly, in a rigidly controlled stroke,
until his groin met mine and his balls pressed warmly against my flesh. Still
the magic held me, moving soft fingers of pleasure over my skin. I felt as if
every cell in my body had opened wide and waited to be filled with the bliss
only Dialle could give me.

I was an empty vessel, needing only his touch to overflow
with contentment.

My fingers clenched on his arms, like claws, grasping as if
I were afraid letting go would send me spinning off into space. I thought the
loss of his body might just kill me. If I’d been an empty husk before, losing
Dialle would finish the process, until I dried up and just blew away.

Dialle’s hands grasped my hips, holding me firmly in place.
His gaze held mine, like an anchor. He drove into me with a slow, steady
stroke. Each controlled thrust sent a wave of bliss sliding through me,
exploding outward to create mini-explosions over every inch of my sensitized
skin.

My nipples hardened to the point of pain. The knot of need
in my sexual core tightened, and my breathing became more taut with every
thrust. Lust intensified in my lower belly…drawing my energy toward the time
when it would all come together in a violent wash of ecstasy.

Still his gaze held me, sending me deep within my mind to
the place where only lust and love lived. To a place where worry was crushed
beneath an avalanche of bright rapture. I clutched him tighter, feeling the pleasure
welling up inside my chest, choking, terrifying, until it broke and sent cool
bliss sliding through me.

I moaned as my pussy convulsed around him. My eyes burned
with the need to close, to pull away from the power in his gaze. But he held me
there, and when the first wave of joy was spent, his magic gaze pulled me into
the next. This one so bright, so filled with power and need that it made me
scream under its beautiful energy.

Dialle finally closed his eyes and let me fall away, only to
bring me plunging back into joy when his body tightened in release, driving
deep, fast and hard into my still-grasping sheath as he fought his way past the
thin barrier in his mind that had restrained his orgasm.

As he gave that final thrust, burying himself deep inside
the clutching glove of my pussy, my body wrapped around his and held on,
unwilling to release him from the delight he’d offered.

My eyes closed as he dropped over me, his breath rasping
hard and fast in his throat, and I felt the sweet heat of his kiss on my
gasping mouth. I wrapped my arms around his back, holding him tight as my body
softened into a calmer state of relief.

My hands shook violently against his skin. My muscles
quivered. I felt at once completely sated and totally super-charged.

There was a dull pain at the juncture of my throat and my
shoulder. It felt almost as if… My eyes shot open. I reached to touch my neck,
where my mark had been. The area was cool and there were no sparks.

Despair swept me. It was just memory pain. For the merest moment
in time I’d thought I’d regained my magic.

Dialle kissed my lips and rolled to my side, pulling me
tightly against him with a sigh. When I turned to look at him his gaze had
returned to normal, no more sensual magic.

The magic had been replaced with sadness.

I propped myself up on an elbow and placed my hand on his
chest, running my finger around a perfect brown nipple. “Brina came to me
today.”

“Mmm?”

“She said you were fighting demons.”

He frowned and his hand clasped my wrist, stopping me from
doodling on his pecs. “I’m fine. Brina should mind her own business.”

My lips parted in surprise. Anger was the last emotion I’d
expected from him at that moment. “You
are
her business. You’re
everyone’s business. If you have a problem…”

He turned to me and frowned, but his grip on my wrist
lightened and he threaded his fingers through mine. “I have no problems, my
love. I just worry for you.” His gaze darkened again and I felt terrible. If my
problems were causing his unhappiness, as well as the decay of the court…

“I’ll be fine, Dialle. In fact, that’s why I came to see
you,” I lied. “I’m going away for a while. Myra and Aubrey think celestial
counseling will help me heal.”

I expected surprise, maybe even anger at this admission but
he only stared at the ceiling, his dark gaze intense. “Yes. I think that is a
good idea. They might be able to help.”

Nodding, I only wished he sounded as if he believed it.
Tears pricked the inside of my lids and I looked away, flopping onto my back in
the tangled sheets. My gaze immediately found the huge, jagged crack snaking
across the ceiling above his bed. Looking around, I saw other signs of decay I
hadn’t noticed before.

The windows looking out over the countryside were cracked
and clouded around the edges. The furniture all seemed seedier than before, and
the beautiful carpet that covered the floor of his rooms looked dingy and
ragged. It was covered in debris as the floor in the throne room had been.

A deep despair filled my heart. I was the cause of all of
the disrepair. I was the cause of Dialle’s dark mood. Brina had been right.

It was all my fault. Everything.

I suddenly knew that if the celestial counseling didn’t work
I’d have to force Dialle to relinquish me. His only hope lay in finding a new
queen, one who could help him rebuild the health of the court. Before the rot
spread to his people. And, ultimately, to the human population who would pay
the price for a damaged Royal Court through violence and unparalleled
debauchery.

The realization nearly crushed me. I brushed a tear off my
cheek and pushed upright, turning my back on Dialle so he couldn’t see me cry.
“Good. Then that’s what I’ll do. You’ll take care of yourself while I’m gone?”

Silence met my question so I turned. Dialle stared into
space, his expression blank. Pain wrenched my heart and I knew I had very
little time. With that thought in mind I started to stand.

His hand snaked out and grabbed my wrist. I looked at him
and his black eyes were locked on me with a terrifying intensity. “Hurry back,
Astra. I…” He took a shuddering breath. “I need you.”

My lips found his in a frantic touch, tears sliding from my
cheeks to his. More bittersweet than passionate, the kiss tasted of the
potential for loss and failure. And when I pulled away I knew I had only one
choice.

I had to heal myself so I could heal Dialle.

Or we’d both most likely die of a broken heart.

Energizer Tweener?

Everywhere our lady looks, surprising sights abound,

But sometimes one must cook the books, to turn one’s
fate around.

White.

As far as the eye could see.

White floors, white walls, white ceilings. White inside and
white outside.

Even the sticks up everybody’s asses were white. At least in
my imagination.

I sat on a white chair in a white waiting room and read
through the pages of white paper they’d given me to sign.

It seemed Heaven didn’t want me to sue their asses in case
they scrambled my brain or something during counseling.

Yeah. That gave me the warm fuzzies. The worst part was the
realization that there had to be lawyers in Heaven. I’d figured all those
frunkers were on permanent vacations in the smoldering climes—walking around
with fire extinguishers strapped to their thousand dollar Plutonian
warthog-skin belts.

If you know what I mean.

The dark-haired angel sitting behind a white desk suddenly
looked up and gave me an insincere smile. “He’ll see you now, Mx. Phelps.”

I scribbled my name across the bottom of the form and stood,
grinning at the expression of horror on the woman’s face as her pale, blue eyes
took in the vibrant hues of my clothing.

In honor of my rebellion against a colorless, monochromatic
world, I’d dressed in just about every color I could find in my closet. A
frilly red blouse with bright green flecks topped a short leather skirt died
bright orange. I’d slipped a purple headband into my dark, auburn hair and I’d
even donned a brand new pair of bright-blue leather boots. It was a
headache-inducing getup and it made my heart light just to look at it.

The best part was the horrified reactions I’d been getting
since Myra had deposited me on the celestial plane. You’d think the Big Guy had
invited Freddy frunkin’ Krueger to tea. A couple of them had even suggested I
might want to change into something a little less…bright…before meeting my
therapist for the first time.

I’d briefly considered planting a bright-blue boot in their
nether regions for their trouble. Looking down at said boots, I frowned. Did
they look a shade less bright? Or was I just getting used to them?

“Mx. Phelps?”

She was standing in front of an open door with a
pale-skinned hand splayed on its surface. I hadn’t even seen her move. When I
looked at her she inclined her head toward the door. “He’s waiting.”

Stepping past the snooty receptionist, I noted the way she
leaned away from me, as if touching the pretty colors would infect the stick up
her ass and transform it into a rainbow. Personally I thought it might do her
some good.

I entered the room and looked around, not surprised to see
that it looked pretty much the same as the waiting room. With one notable
exception.

Bathed in silver light from a nearby window, a man sat
behind another white desk, this one much larger. He was skinny to the point of
emaciated and, judging from his long arms and legs, looked very tall. He was
dressed all in white and had pale skin—again, not a surprise—and his large
hands were folded in front of him on the desk. He had small, dark-brown eyes
and a wide mouth, with lips that were just a shade redder than usual, and a
frothy cap of bright-green hair.

I grinned.

He smiled back and stood, offering me one of his large
hands. “Mx. Phelps, I’m Gus. I’ll be your celestial counselor while you’re
here.”

“Nice hair, Gus.”

He reached up and patted the tangled, green mop. “Thank you.
Enjoy it while you can.”

I frowned as he indicated the white couch across the room.
“Would you like to sit? Or lie down?”

“Actually, Gus. I’d like to run like hell.”

Gus nodded but didn’t look surprised. “Why don’t we
compromise and you can just pace.”

“Deal.”

Gus sat down and folded his hands on top of the desk. He
watched me pace for a few minutes, saying nothing. Finally I stopped and looked
at him. “Do you want me to start?”

Gus shrugged. “If you want.”

I frowned. Was this some kind of sick joke? “What if I said
I just wanted to leave?”

Gus shrugged again. “You’re not a prisoner here, Astra.”

I stared at him for a minute and then it hit me. He was
being tricky. “I see what you’re doing. You’re trying to impress on me that I
need to work at this to fix it. That it’s up to me to make myself get better.
And that if I’m not willing to try I’m not going to get better.”

Again he shrugged. He reached up and scratched the mop of
green on his head with one finger.

I gritted my teeth against a wave of temper. Despite the fun
addition of the green hair, Gus was starting to piss me off. “I wouldn’t be
here if I didn’t want to get better.”

He cocked his grass-colored head. “Really? Are you sure
about that?”

I frowned. “Is that a trick question?”

“Do you realize you answered a question with a question?”

“Is that bad?”

“Don’t you know only therapists are allowed to do that?”

I looked at him. He looked at me. I grinned. He smiled. “How
is this gonna go, Gus?”

His smile widened. “Would you like to sit now?”

With a sigh I admitted defeat. “Would you be pleased if I did?”

He snorted. “Would you care if I was?”

I sat, crossed my legs, and clasped my hands in my lap.
Frowning, I noticed my pretty boots were no longer bright blue. They were now a
soothing shade of sky blue.
Well, just shit.

Gus spread his long fingers over his desk and, in a flash of
light, a book appeared in front of him. He perused it for a while, one finger
sliding down each page as if he was speed-reading. I assumed it had something
to do with me and my problem so I waited, my fingers twining nervously. In the
interim, I looked around Gus’ office.

Despite my initial perception, the office wasn’t entirely
white. At least not always. Every now and then an item would burst into color
and then slowly fade back to white. A picture frame on the wall of bookshelves
burst into blue and began to lighten. The large plant near the window, beyond
which only a fluffy bank of clouds could be seen, erupted into deep green and
then eased back to white.

It was obvious that Gus, like me, was trying to buck the
system, with only limited success. But I appreciated his efforts. No wonder
they’d given me to him.

Gus finally closed the book and looked up.

“Does the story in that book have a happy ending?”

“Again with the questions.”

I snorted. “This time I really want the answer.”

“Then I’ll try to get you one. But I don’t have it yet.”

“Fair enough. So, where do we start?”

Gus stood and came around his desk. I noticed his hair had
turned the color of young moss, softly green rather than vibrant. Apparently
Heaven leeched all color out of things and I found that disturbing on so many
levels.

There had to be a way to fix that.

Gus stopped in front of me and I started to stand. He placed
a hand on my shoulder, holding me in my seat. “No, sit. I just want to delve
into your aura a bit. Are you all right with that?”

I wasn’t sure if I was all right with it or not. But I
realized I was going to have to trust him or the counseling thing wasn’t going
to work, so I nodded.

“Good. Now I just want you to sit very still and try not to
tense up.”

Easier said than done. Especially when I felt the first,
invasive, spectral touch sliding over the place, deep inside my body, where my
magic used to live.

It was all I could do not to leap out of that chair and run
screaming from the room.

“Close your eyes, Astra, and tell me when you feel a surge
of power.”

I did as he asked, but didn’t really feel anything except
invaded. His spectral fingers danced along the edges of my aura with deft
gentleness. Despite his attempts to be gentle, however, I soon realized my
shoulders were encroaching on my ears and forced them down.

“Relax. We’re nearly done.”

“I don’t think it’s work— Whoa!” A jolt of power speared
through me and I jumped. “What was that?”

Gus removed his hands and stepped back, frowning slightly.
“That was a tiny bubble of errant magic that you had stored.”

I felt my eyes go wide. “Stored? Is there more in there?”

He turned away and walked back to his desk, dropping into it
and sitting forward. Gus rubbed his palms together and looked at me, his brown
gaze filled with questions even I could see. “I’m sure there is. Not enough to
do anything with, of course, but it proves one thing…” He trailed off and I
nearly leapt from my chair.

“What?”

“Hmm?”

“What does it prove?”

“Oh. I’m not sure. I’ll need more tests.”

Swearing like a Venutian soldier, I jumped to my feet and
started to pace again.

* * * * *

I spent the next several hours being poked and prodded and
sent through large, white tubes that made my skin crawl under a series of
intrusive pulses and tones. By the time I was led, shaking and exhausted, back
to Gus’ office, my clothing and pretty boots were pure white and I was pretty
sure my hair was too.

Gus was sitting behind his desk again. His hair was bright
orange. He smiled when I walked in. “There you are. I have really good news for
you.” He stood up and I smiled. Good news could only mean one thing.

“I can get my power back?”

Gus grabbed a hat off his desk and started toward me. “What?
Oh, I don’t know that yet. But it’s time for lunch and Tuesdays are meatloaf
day.”

He grasped my arm and spun me toward the door, pulling my
arm through his. Speechless, I stumbled with him through the waiting room,
blinking stupidly as he turned to the woman behind the desk. “See you in an
hour, Mx. Pickles.”

The woman gave him her insincere smile. “Meatloaf and
Jell-O?”

Gus opened the outer door and ushered me through. “Lime
Jell-O, Mx. Pickles. Better than sex.”

The woman made a high-pitched choking sound that I assumed
was laughter, cut off when Gus closed the door.

“Mx. Pickles? Is that some kind of joke?”

Gus pulled my arm through his again and started off. “Not at
all. Last names don’t mean anything in Heaven so we make them up.”

I snorted. “Are you telling me that sour-faced woman in
there chose the name Pickles?”

Gus frowned down at me. “Mx. Pickles has a wonderful sense
of humor. You must have just gotten on her bad side.”

“Is she a double-sided coin?”

Gus grinned, squeezing my arm under his. “It’s a beautiful
day.”

I looked away from Gus for the first time since exiting the
therapy building and sucked in a surprised breath. The area we walked through
looked like Earth, with green trees and shrubs and flowers overflowing
vibrantly colored beds lining both sides of the red-brick sidewalk. “Wow,
color.”

“Of course, why wouldn’t there be?”

“Because everything is always white.”

Gus’ eyebrows lifted. “Is it?”

“Are you screwing with me?”

“I don’t think so. But let me think about that.”

I laughed. “I’m starting to think you’re crazier than I am.”

Rather than being offended, Gus chuckled. “You could be
right.”

We walked in companionable silence for a few minutes and I
started to relax, putting the tension-filled morning behind me. Birds sang high
in the deep-green trees, a soft breeze wafted warmly past, and enormous,
intricately marked butterflies danced from flower to flower around us. For the
first time since I’d been coming there, it actually did feel like Heaven.

A woman was walking toward us on the sidewalk and, as she
reached us, she put her hand on my arm and smiled. Bright power jolted from her
to me, silvery and light. “How are you today, dear?”

I gasped as the power touched me and jerked my hand away.
Gus’ face turned thoughtful but he said nothing. The woman walked on and I
rubbed the spot where she’d touched me, frowning over my shoulder at her. “Did
you see that?”

“Hmm.”

Seeing that Gus was buried in his thoughts, I shook my head
and let it go. A moment later we stopped, allowing an elderly man to scurry
across the sidewalk in front of us. The man stopped and reached a hand toward
Gus. “Hello, Doc.”

Gus clasped the man’s hand. “Barnabus. Are you enjoying this
gorgeous day?”

“I certainly am.” He glanced at me.

“Oh, I’m sorry. This is Astra. Astra, this is Barnabus. He
used to be one of my clients.”

Barnabus reached a gnarled hand in my direction and I
clasped it. “Hello.” Silvery power shot out of his hand into mine. I jumped and
made a surprised sound. “What the…”

Gus pulled me on down the sidewalk. “See you later,
Barnabus.”

“Why is everybody zapping me?”

Gus shrugged. “Static electricity?”

“He didn’t zap you when you touched him.”

Gus just shrugged again.

“Astra.”

I turned at the sound of a familiar voice and smiled when I
saw Flick walking hand in hand with a large, black-haired woman who was dressed
head-to-toe in black leather. My old guardian angel had grown his stringy brown
hair out into a ponytail, which he wore in a single braid, plaited through with
colorful beads. The goatee that had been a pitiful shadow on his chin the last
time I’d seen him had grown into a moderately respectable facial ornament, with
the side benefit that it strengthened his not-so-manly chin. Flick even looked
as if he’d bulked up a bit.

Despite his added bulk, the woman Flick was with still
seemed bigger. Her shoulders were broader than his and she had a tattoo of a
dancing angel on one biceps. Her face was round, with high cheekbones, a broad
forehead and wide, deep-red lips. I barely recognized Merriam without the
rapier strapped at her hip and several platinum knives sheathed in her wide,
brown belt. Flick’s girlfriend walked right up to me and pulled me into a hug.
“How you been, girl?”